Welcome to the new era of college football, where schools fire coaches first and ask questions later. Former Tennessee coach Phil Fulmer and ex-Clemson coach Tommy Bowden learned the hard way last season that a lot of schools are perfectly willing and able to fire high-profile coaches midway through the season. Here's a look at the top candidates most likely to follow in their dubious footsteps in 2009 thanks to a variety of problems including tough schedules and impatient boosters: Randy Shannon, Miami *School record: 12-13, third season *Why he's in trouble: The Hurricanes open with a brutal schedule -- at Florida State, Georgia Tech at home, at Virginia Tech and Oklahoma at home.

As I write this column, I'm playing hurt. Well, at least as far as you know, I'm hurt. I'm on the ground, writhing in pain. It appears I've been hit with carpel tunnel syndrome, and I'm waiting for the training staff to help me off the office floor and back to my desk. What you don't know is that I'm faking the injury, hoping to slow you - the reader - down until I come up my next line. Apparently I'm not the only who favors this tactic. College football coaches are grousing about what they perceive as high-profile examples of teams faking injuries to gain a competitive advantage.

This hemisphere has had two major votes in recent days. The results made one thing clear. Venezuelans should run the BCS. Maybe not the whole thing, but they should at least give tutorials to college football coaches. Venezuela rejected a power-grab referendum by President Hugo Chavez. Not to get all geopolitical here, but I think most Americans agree that letting an oil-rich nutcase become dictator for life would not have been a good thing. I know most Americans agree that letting the BCS dictate the national championship is a bad thing.

Seminole County might want to go ahead and put in an early public-works requisition for resurfacing major roadways next year. There is going to be quite a bit of extra traffic, especially in the next few months, on roads such as Ronald Reagan Boulevard, U.S. 17-92, State Road 434, Old Lake Mary Road and other streets. College football coaches will be wearing down these streets as they start plugging high school names into their GPS units this spring, mapping out their routes to see Seminole County's top-notch football prospects.

It's not as much a fraternity meeting as it is a gathering of like minds.Florida's college football coaches, days away from greeting their new recruits and opening fall practice, first must tackle another task before two-a-day drills - the state's media.The state's seven coaches, including new arrival Jim Leavitt of South Florida, will mug for pictures and address various subjects today at Daytona USA.Like it or not, the Florida Sports Writers Association's annual media day will give Miami coach Butch Davis a chance to outline his plans in the wake of a summer pocked by suspensions.

On a flight to Lafayette, La., Florida Coach Steve Spurrier found plenty of time to reflect. It was there that Eraste Autin -- a Gator for only three weeks -- would be laid to rest. Spurrier struggled to understand why Autin had left the side of a teammate following voluntary freshman conditioning drills. He struggled to understand why Autin had jogged, instead of walked. And he struggled to understand why Autin's body -- after just 18 years -- would fail him. Why would heatstroke cause his body temperature to soar to 108 degrees, prompting a heart attack and inducing a coma from which he would never emerge?

The USA Today/ESPN poll of college football coaches projects Florida State as No. 1. Who do you think will end the season No. 1? Why? to respond dial 407-418-5980, and press 1. To tell us the most memorable game to you for our upcoming football sections, press 2. To tell us yur favorite team and why press 3. Leave your comment, name and phone number.

The college football coaches of America are expected to deliver their own version of the Big Bang theory this week, or certainly before the month is over, leaving the National Football League in space.The feelings between the two started to turn when the NFL announced four years ago it would accept in the draft underclassmen who had spent at least three years in college.Reportedly, the colleges will allow scouts to visit campuses only in October, and just on certain days. Also, the colleges are expected to reduce to three the number of days the pros can visit during spring practice.

The memorial service for Malcolm Tait was just the way he would have wanted to see his old restaurant - standing room only. Among the huge throng at Grace Brethren Church:Politician Dick Batchelor, cartoonist Ralph Dunagin, Orlando Panthers and Canadian Football League Hall of Famer Don Jonas, television personalities past and present such as former sports anchor Ken Brown, and current weather forecaster Marty Stebbins, radio and public relations voice Bud...

Some of the top college football coaches in the country are visiting Orlando this weekend courtesy of the Florida Citrus Bowl. The coaches and other guests are attending the Citrus Bowl's 1988 Tournament of Champions event. Although many of the guests will participate in tennis and golf tournaments, the gathering is a social affair designed to create good will between the guests and the Citrus Bowl. Among the guests are Memphis State football coach Charlie Bailey, East Carolina's Art Baker, Wake Forest's Bill Dooley, Georgia's Vince Dooley, Clemson's Danny Ford, Pittsburgh's Mike Gottfried, Indiana's Bill Mallory and Duke's Steve Spurrier.

The essence of Will Muschamp is simple. Just ask his former boss at Valdosta State. "It's not rocket science," Murray State coach Chris Hatcher said. "The guy's smart, he's passionate about what he does and he works extremely hard. " Those qualities were enough to sell offensive-minded Hatcher. In his first season as a head coach, Hatcher was tasked with resurrecting his alma mater's football program. Hatcher would take care of the offense, and Muschamp would run the Blazers' defense.

Senior quarterback William Santry thought he had played his last football game at Celebration until he met Ed Meierkort. "Having him here is what made me play this year," said Santry, who decided to play golf as a junior. "When I heard he was going to be our coach, that is when I decided I was going to play again. " An easygoing, likable guy, Meierkort — believed to be the only former college head coach who is in charge of a Central Florida high-school team — knows how to build winning programs.

We think we know, but we really don't. As commentators and critics, analysts and advocates, we think we know how easy it is for college football coaches to settle a controversy and name a quarterback. What's the big deal, right? What's so hard about it? You just pick the guy who plays the best in practice, name the starter and get ready for kickoff. Ah, if only it were that easy. If only it were about performance … instead of playing politics and massaging egos and softening hard feelings.

Orlando always has been a great central location for college football coaches to fly in, rent a car and then drive about the state in search of the next great high-school football prospects. But in recent years, coaches are spending more time checking out the talent in Orlando instead of heading off to South Florida or Tampa or Jacksonville. That practice has become more of a trend this year. The talent in the Class of 2013 in Central Florida is probably the best — from top to bottom — that this area has seen, and college scouts are well aware.

Writers from around the Tribune Co. discuss which coaches have the most on the line entering the upcoming college football season. Feel free to join the conversation with a comment of your own. Chris Dufresne , Los Angeles Times Somebody needs to get into Notre Dame Coach Brian Kelly 's face on the sideline and scream at him the way he chews his quarterbacks out. Kelly has to pick up his overall game. He's 16-10 after two years at the No.1 hot-rock Rockne spot in the nation.

Which big-time college football coaches are most on the hot seat? Experts from around Tribune Co. weigh in with their opinions. Teddy Greenstein, Chicago Tribune I'll point to two -- for totally different reasons. Arkansas ' John L. Smith needs to win. Now. His contract runs a mere 10 months. In replacing the disgraced Bobby Petrino , Smith will have to hit it big with a Razorbacks team primed to compete for an SEC title because of stars Knile Davis and Tyler Wilson and a favorable schedule ( Alabama and LSU at home)

Florida's best high school athlete hopes to win a major-college basketball grant-in-aid and eventually play his way into the NBA.Vince Robinson's words were music to the ears of a dozen college basketball coaches watching the Sunshine State Games 17-under championships at Spartan Center.When the echoes of his words reach around the country, another 50 college football coaches will be disappointed.Robinson, a 6-foot-3, 220-pound senior from Jacksonville Raines High School, is Florida's No. 1 football prospect at quarterback, one of the best dozen in America.

State college football coaches begin their annual media tours with a stop today in Tampa for the two-day Florida Sports Writers Association gathering. After that, it's on to the various conference media events next week. Here are some questions they're likely to be asked by the scribes and our offerings for how the coaches might answer (with our tongues firmly planted in cheek on some of them): UCF's George O'Leary How are you going to replace Kevin Smith? "We can't. Did you see him play last season?

Coming soon: "Tim Tebow's Wild Rise" from E! If that title raises concern, E! says the 30-minute special explores "his extraordinary success on the football field, coupled with his religious devotion and infectious charm. " The program about the new New York Jet premieres at 8 p.m. July 2. The speakers witnessing to Tebow's gifts and character include close friends, former high school and college football coaches, sports journalists and pop culture experts, E! said. A sampling of comments from sports journalists: "I think this whole nice boy Captain America image is the biggest thing going for him. If he didn't have it, then what would we be talking about?"

An assistant college football coach who ran a sports charity for troubled boys was found guilty late Friday of 45 counts of child sexual abuse, according to Pennsylvania media. Sandusky, 68, was convicted by the jury of sexually abusing victims as young as 10 over the course of 15 years. The case of against the former Penn State University 's defensive coordinator rocked the world of college sports last year and brought down the school's president as well as its legendary coach, Joe Paterno , who has since died of cancer . Prosecutors said Sandusky preyed on boys through his Second Mile Foundation through his role as a father figure.